EA DICE / Digital Illusions CE

EA Digital Illusions CE (EA DICE) is a Swedish video game development studio founded in 1992, specializing in creating video games for PCs and consoles. Since October 2006, the studio has been owned by Electronic Arts, one of the world’s largest game producers and publishers. The company is headquartered in Stockholm. Since 2013, the studio also maintained a subsidiary in Los Angeles - but in January 2020, when the famed Vince Zampella took over, it regained full independence.

Digital Illusions CE’s early successes are inseparably tied to the pinball genre - titles such as Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies, and Pinball Illusions went on to become classics and are still regarded as some of the most influential games in their category. Later, the studio shifted its focus toward racing games, with two series standing out as key achievements of that era: Swedish Touring Car and RalliSport Challenge. The Battlefield series, which debuted in 2002, marked a major turning point in Digital Illusions CE’s history. Over the years, it grew into the studio’s flagship brand and became one of the most significant franchises in Electronic Arts’ entire publishing lineup. Other EA DICE franchises currently in development include the Mirror’s Edge series - first-person action games with strong parkour elements - as well as the Star Wars: Battlefront series, which the studio took over in 2015.

History
Technology

History

The age of pinball

The origins of EA DICE trace back to May 1992, when four young developers from the Swedish town of Alvesta - Ulf Mandorff, Olof Gustafsson, Fredrik Liliegren, and Andreas Axelsson - all former members of the renowned demo group The Silents, decided to establish their own game development studio. Initially known as Digital Illusions HB, the company underwent a legal reorganization in 1993 and adopted a new name: Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment AB (Digital Illusions CE). Initially, the studio was based in Växjö, operating out of a small dorm room at the local university.

Digital Illusions CE’s first releases were Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies, published by 21st Century Entertainment for Amiga and DOS PCs in 1992. Both titles were a huge success, sparking the pinball boom of the 1990s and securing a lasting place in the history of electronic entertainment. The profits from their early successes allowed the young developers to move into their own headquarters in Gothenburg in 1994, where they completed their next title, Pinball Illusions (1995), widely regarded as one of the most important games in the pinball genre.

The age of racing games

In 1998, Digital Illusions CE debuted on the Swedish stock exchange, raising valuable capital that enabled the company to acquire Refraction Games in January 2000 and a 90% stake in Synergenix Interactive (later fully acquired by Red Jade, Inc.). That same year, an internal division called DICE Simulations AB was established, supporting the parent studio for years before being liquidated a decade later. In 2001, Digital Illusions CE acquired the Canadian studio Sandbox Studios, which subsequently operated under the name Digital Illusions Canada.

Meanwhile, the studio shifted its focus to racing games, producing the 1999 arcade title Motorhead and the more simulator-oriented Swedish Touring Car series, based on the license of the renowned Scandinavian STCC race series. Between 2001 and 2002, the studio released Matchbox Emergency Patrol, based on a popular toy license; the Microsoft-developed rally game RalliSport Challenge; and the Electronic Arts-published V8 Challenge. Digital Illusions CE also ventured into family games, creating titles like Shrek (2001) and The Land Before Time: Big Water Adventure (2002).

The age of Battlefield

In 2002, the studio developed the World War II–set first-person shooter Battlefield 1942 for EA, marking a major breakthrough for Digital Illusions CE. The game set new standards for online war shooters and achieved remarkable commercial success, launching one of the most significant franchises in history - both for the genre and for its publisher, EA. Between 2003 and 2004, the Swedish studio released an expansion for Battlefield 1942 called The Road to Rome and followed it up with the sequel Battlefield: Vietnam.

In September 2004, DICE strengthened its team by acquiring the American studio Trauma Studios, previously known for the popular Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942. The newly acquired branch was rebranded as DICE New York. Less than a year later, the full-fledged sequel Battlefield 2 launched, followed by three official expansion packs in following months. Shortly after the release, Digital Illusions CE management decided to move the DICE New York team to the company’s new headquarters in Stockholm to help the parent studio develop the next installment in the series. However, the New York team refused to move to Sweden, leading to DICE New York’s closure in 2005, with most former employees going on to form Kaos Studios, known for titles like Frontlines: Fuel of War and Homefront.

Despite its close work on the Battlefield franchise, the studio had no plans to remain permanently tied to Electronic Arts. In the meantime, it developed Midtown Madness 3 and RalliSport Challenge 2 for Microsoft. The Redwood City giant, however, didn’t give up on securing such a talented developer and in November 2004 announced plans to gradually acquire Digital Illusions CE’s shares, completing the takeover in October 2006. Now operating as EA Digital Illusions CE, the studio released the futuristic Battlefield 2142 (2006), built on the Battlefield 2 engine, along with its official expansion, Northern Strike (2007). Significant structural changes also took place: Patrick Söderlund became head of EA DICE, and DICE Canada was shut down immediately after the acquisition.

In 2008, Battlefield: Bad Company, a spin-off in the Battlefield series, hit the shelves, along with the studio’s first entirely new IP in years: Mirror’s Edge. This game combined first-person action with platforming, showcasing parkour-inspired movement in a striking, stylized world. Both titles performed well commercially, and Battlefield: Bad Company even got a sequel in 2010. The sequel was supported by two official expansions: Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Vietnam. Between 2009 and 2011, EA DICE ventured into the free-to-play online gaming scene, releasing three titles: Battlefield Heroes and Battlefield: Play 4 Free, both aimed at global audiences, as well as Battlefield Online, primarily targeting the Asian market.

In 2010, Electronic Arts tasked EA DICE with developing the multiplayer mode for Medal of Honor, a reboot of another well-known EA first-person shooter series. The game's primary developer, however, was Danger Close (formerly EA Los Angeles), a studio created after Electronic Arts acquired DreamWorks Interactive. In 2011, Battlefield 3, the third full-fledged installment in EA DICE’s flagship series, was released. It featured five multiplayer-focused expansions, all available through EA’s standard season pass. Two years later, Battlefield 4 hit the shelves, accompanied by five DLC packs. Despite frequent criticism for its very short single-player campaign, repetitive gameplay, and limited innovation, it mirrored the commercial success of its predecessor. Thanks largely to its multiplayer mode, it became one of the most popular first-person shooters among gamers.

Other projects

When Visceral Games took on the development of the next Battlefield spin-off in 2013, EA DICE had a chance to catch its breath and step back for a moment. This became particularly significant in May of that year, when, following the commercial failure of Medal of Honor: Warfighter, EA management decided to merge Danger Close into EA DICE, creating DICE Los Angeles. Thanks to Electronic Arts acquiring the license for games set in the iconic Star Wars universe, EA DICE focused on developing Star Wars: Battlefront, a reboot of LucasArts’ popular shooter series from the early 21st century. The game was released in November 2015, and a few months later, a sequel to the popular Mirror's Edge also hit the market.

However, in late 2016, EA DICE returned to its flagship series, delivering a surprising addition for fans. After several contemporary - and even somewhat futuristic - installments in the series, Battlefield 1 marked a return to historical warfare, focusing on a period rarely explored in video games: World War I. After giving the somewhat stagnant franchise a significant refresh, EA DICE turned its attention to developing the second installment of Star Wars: Battlefront.

Image problems

The aforementioned game was released in November 2017 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Despite being significantly expanded compared to its predecessor - most notably by the addition of a story campaign - it was not well-received. The backlash began even before the game launched, as players and reviewers criticized the aggressive implementation of microtransactions and lootboxes, which created pay-to-win mechanics that disrupted progression and content unlocking. When Disney, as the owner of the Star Wars franchise, expressed concern over the controversy, Electronic Arts responded by removing them.

The pre-release drama had already hurt the game’s rep though, which led to weaker sales and harsher reviews. In February 2018, rumors popped up that Disney might pull the Star Wars game license from EA after all the backlash from Battlefront II - but in the end, that never actually happened. In the months that followed, DICE kept the game fresh with regular content updates. Microtransactions made a comeback in April 2018, but this time players could only spend money on cosmetic items.

Interestingly, when a rep from the publisher tried to defend the lootbox system on Reddit, the post got slammed with 683,000 downvotes. That post actually set a Guinness World Record for “most downvoted comment on Reddit.”

On May 23, 2018, DICE revealed its next big project. That game was Battlefield V, set during World War II. At first, the developers promised there would be no gameplay-affecting lootboxes - only cosmetics available for purchase. But after the first trailer dropped, players quickly criticized the game, claiming it treated the serious World War II setting too lightly. By August 2018, it became clear that pre-release sales were underwhelming, so DICE pushed the launch back by a month.

When it finally launched, the game was well-received by the press. But just a week after launch, it became clear that wasn’t enough - the game sold far fewer copies than its predecessor in the same timeframe and couldn’t keep up with its main rival, Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII. Even though EA reported in February 2019 that the game had sold 7.3 million copies, the publisher still wasn’t happy with those numbers. Despite the disappointing sales, Battlefield V got plenty of new content in the following months, including fresh maps and the Firestorm mode, which brought a battle royale twist to the game.

In January 2020, EA announced that Vince Zampella, formerly the head of Respawn Entertainment, would take charge of their Los Angeles studio. Under his leadership, the team formerly known as DICE LA not only rebranded but also became fully independent, giving them the freedom to develop their own games. In July 2021, the team was renamed Ripple Effect Studios. The first job for the newly independent team was to help finish Battlefield 2042. Once that launched, they were set to strike out on their own and start developing original projects.

Extinguishing fires

Speaking of Battlefield 2042 – in June 2021, DICE revealed the latest entry in its blockbuster series. The game was designed for PCs as well as eighth- and ninth-generation consoles. The developers said the game was meant to bring the series back to its roots. So, they opted to skip a story campaign and concentrate entirely on multiplayer. As the name implies, the game took place in a near-future setting, with battlefields depicting conflicts between the United States and Russia. Beyond its graphics, the game wowed players with massive multiplayer battles, supporting up to 128 players at once. Initial reviews of the game were optimistic. When Battlefield 2042 finally dropped, it was hit hard with negative reviews from players across the board. The game was plagued with all sorts of issues, and even though DICE patched things quickly, new bugs kept popping up - some so bizarre that players could, for example, “repair” penguins in-game. Things got even worse as players started abandoning the game so fast that even cheat developers reportedly stopped bothering with it.

Then, on November 25, 2021, Fawzi Mesmar, the project manager, departed from the studio. Then, in December, insider Tom Henderson revealed that the development of the game had been marked by significant chaos. Switching to a new version of the Frostbite engine caused major headaches for the developers. Experienced team members left, and on top of that, the game’s concept kept changing multiple times. Because of all these issues, full-scale development on the game didn’t really get underway until August 2020.

EA had no choice but to step in and try to put out the fire. On December 2, 2021, it was announced that Vince Zampella and his Ripple Effect Studios would take over the development of the Battlefield series. Additionally, Oskar Gabrielson stepped down as general manager of DICE, with Rebecca Coutaz - formerly GM at Ubisoft Annecy - taking over the role.

Battlefield 6 - A New Hope

Although rumors about the next Battlefield installment - initially nicknamed Battlefield 7 by fans - started circulating, it wasn’t until early 2024 that EA DICE released any substantial information. Unfortunately, the news wasn’t great: in February, Marcus Lehto, head of Ridgeline Games - the studio slated to develop the story campaigns for the Battlefield series - left the team. In March, Craig Morrison resigned from the franchise's development. Meanwhile, in April 2024, it came out that EA DICE was just one of seven development teams working on the new Battlefield.

Over time, Battlefield 7 evolved into Battlefield 6 - at first unofficially, but eventually, that became the official name EA DICE gave its new game. The first tests for this game kicked off in March 2025, and its official reveal didn’t happen until July 2025. The open beta testing for the project not only gave fans hope that the developers might finally meet their expectations, but also let both the team and publisher look ahead with optimism. The game sparked huge excitement, as seen in the massive number of pre-orders it received.

Technology

Since 1999, most of Digital Illusions CE’s games have been built using their own in-house technology. The first engine they used was the Refractor Engine, originally created for Codename Eagle by Refraction Games, which DICE acquired in January 2000. The engine powered several of DICE’s early hits, including Battlefield 1942, Battlefield: Vietnam, and RalliSport Challenge. Later, DICE upgraded its technology to Refractor Engine 2.0, which powered Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Battlefield Heroes, Battlefield Online, and Battlefield: Play 4 Free, among other titles.

In 2008, for the seventh-generation console release Battlefield: Bad Company, EA DICE created an entirely new graphics engine called Frostbite. Over the next few years, Frostbite was steadily upgraded, with new versions launching in 2009 (Frostbite 1.5), 2011 (Frostbite 2), and 2013 (Frostbite 3). In 2011, Frostbite made its debut outside of EA DICE when EA Black Box used it for Need for Speed: The Run. In the years that followed, the Frostbite engine was used in more and more games. Interestingly, EA DICE’s proprietary technology, originally built for first-person shooters, also proved its worth in other genres like racing, RPGs, and sports titles. The newest version of the Frostbite engine is now powering most of EA’s big-budget games, making it a core part of EA DICE’s parent company’s productions.